Pikmin (season 1)
The first season of Pikmin ''began airing on NBC on May 5, 1989 and concluded after 13 episodes on May 11, 1990. The season won one Emmy award and had four other nominations. "Onto Mount Casano" won "Outstanding Animated Program". "The Call of the Pikmin" was nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special"; and "Pikmin Theme," composed by Danny Elfman, was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music." All 13 episodes of Season 1, including extras were released on DVD on September 25, 2001 in Region 1 and September 24, 2001 in Regions 2 and 4. This is the first of the Complete Seasons of ''Pikmin released in boxsets for home media. Production In early 1987, Chris Melendandri was becoming interested in contributing to "something original". At the same time, he learned that NBC had become interested in developing a show featuring ordinary children in extraordinary circumstances.Thus, the network commissioned Melendandri to create an animated series geared towards the nine to 14 year-old demographic that was also capable of entertaining older audiences at the same time. On April 19, 1987, while traveling in an elevator on his way back to his office from his lunch break, Melendandri said, "Pik-min!", and nearly the entire premise of Pikmin naturally unfolded thereafter. According to Melendandri , the lead characters' names indicate that Pikmin "is going to be an arched show that is a little bit over the top, but also that the guy is going to be funny." Conceiving all main characters themselves, Alex was eventually created and added to the roster, but the series essentially remains about Olimar "who crash landed on a planet filled with Pikmin". With its main creator finally established, Pikmin became the easiest show Melendandri has ever developed. One of NBC's earliest forays into developing an entirely original animated series "from scratch", Pikmin was born out of the creator's realization that there were few animated series starring a specie of creatures at the time and created the Pikmin as "creatures that ... boys can look up to", inspired by their own young sons. The creator was also influenced by his own childhood heroes James Bond and Captain Kirk from Star Trek, and wanted the Pikmin to resemble a character their daughters could idolize similarly. Reception The first season of Pikmin ''received positive reviews from critics. Episodes ''See also: List of Pikmin episodes DVD release Season 1 was released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Video in Regions 2 and 4 on September 24, 2003, and on September 25 in Region 1. While primarily consisting of the original 13 episodes, the DVD release features bonus material including deleted scenes, Animatics, and commentaries for every episode. The set sold 1.9 million units, becoming the highest-selling television program on DVD—a record which it held until October 2004 when it was passed by the first season of Chappelle's Show. Awards The season won one Emmy award and had three other nominations. "Onto Mount Casano" won "Outstanding Animated Program". "The Call of the Pikmin" was nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Comedy Series or a Special"; and "Pikmin Theme," composed by Danny Elfman, was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music."